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Chisolm fundraiser in Atlanta draws small crowd

ATLANTA — Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm of Savannah scheduled a fundraising reception in Atlanta Oct. 9 for his re-election campaign hosted by his counterparts in the capital city.

Chisolm is facing Republican Meg Daly Heap in his re-election bid, and she has outpaced him so far in fundraising. In the most recent campaign spending reports, Heap had raised just over $104,000 compared to almost $45,000 for Chisolm.

The event was held at the home of Patrise Perkins-Hooker, treasurer of the State Bar of Georgia and the first black elected to its executive committee. Among the other hosts were Atlanta District Attorney Paul Howard, DeKalb D.A. Robert James, lobbyist Mary Long, trial lawyer Charles Huddleston and architect Cheryl McAfee.

When a reporter who received an emailed invitation asked to cover the event, he was turned away.

“Sir, unfortunately the Larry Chisolm fundraiser on Tuesday night is at a private residence and closed to the press,” said the unsigned statement from Landslyde LLC., a firm that specializes in campaigns by Democrats such as Chisolm.

The minimum contribution was $100.

While names of the attendees weren’t disclosed, state law requires the names of those contributing more than $100 be filed with the state ethics commission before the election.

Landslyde predicted about 30 people would attend, mostly friends of Chisolm from Atlanta. Nothing was on the agenda besides socializing.